Assam: Massive fire breaks out in Guwahati residential complex; no casualties reported

More than 100 people were rescued from the fire that ravaged crores and crores worth properties destroyed.

Guwahati (Assam):A massive fire broke out in a residential complex in Guwahati's Hatigaon Chariali on Thursday night at around 11 pm, officials said. As many as 100 houses were charred in this fire. According to official sources, no casualties were reported in this incident. However, properties worth crores are believed to have been damaged in this fire.

Officials said the fire broke out in the house of Raju Ali, a tenant in a locality in Ajanta Road at Hatigaon. The fire is suspected to be ignited by a gas cylinder explosion. However, the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Deputy Commissioner of Guwahati Police Surajit Singh Panesar, who immediately rushed to the spot on information about the incident, said the blaze spread quickly due to the explosion of nearly 15 gas cylinders. 15 fire tenders and emergency services rushed to the spot to control the blaze. The fire brigade teams were able to douse the fire after a lot of effort. More than 100 people were rescued and no major casualties were reported, the DC said.

Many school students who were rescued from the fire were supposed to appear for High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination and the class X examination. The students lost all their books and stationery to the fire. Two four-wheelers were also charred to ashes. The cause of the fire will be ascertained only after investigation, he said.

According to victims, the fire spread within no time. "We all ran to save our lives and could not take our belongings with us. All our belongings have been burnt to ashes. Everything is gone," lamented one of the victims, fighting her tears. This was the plight shared by most of the evacuees.